How to Date Prince Harry

How to Really Marry Prince Harry

After splitting with his girlfriend, Cressida Bonas, back in April, Prince Harry has reportedly found love again with Camilla Thurlow, who works on the Halo Trust, a charity close to Harry's heart. While this is bad news for the thousands (maybe millions?) of women who were hoping to be Harry's next love, it's good to hear that the young royal's romantic life is going well. But dating, and keeping, one of the world's most eligible bachelors is a lot more difficult than it looks, as Camilla will likely discover. Luckily, we've put together a guide — from bizarre royal rules to Harry's personal preferences — on how to properly snag Harry for yourself. Sorry, I Wanna Marry "Harry" contestants, but you might want to just keep looking.

Before Harry can ever get hitched, his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, has to approve of his bride-to-be. And, no, we're not just saying that she has to get along with you in order to invite you to family functions — she is required to sign off on every marriage for any person who is a descendant of King George II before they can get legally married in the UK. The queen recently made a push for a new law that would modify this rule and whittle down her approval list to the first six heirs to the throne and make it so that, even if she or any sovereign doesn't approve, the couple in question could still get legally married but would have to give up their succession rights. However, this new law has not gone into effect just yet.

Harry's two serious girlfriends, Cressida Bonas and Chelsy Davy, both had a common trait — they both had blond hair. Even his rumored hookups like The Saturdays' Mollie King and lingerie model Florence Brudenell-Bruce have been flaxen-haired beauties. We think it's safe to say that the redhead prince has a thing for blondes.

And no, we don't mean just be athletic. Like any good English aristocrat, Harry is very much into "gentlemanly sports," like hunting and playing polo. If you want to date Harry, you better brush up on your shooting skills and learn about the rules of playing polo (or, how to properly watch a polo match like a lady). Animal rights activists need not apply.

According the Act of Settlement of 1701, a member of the royal family must remove themselves from the line of succession before they can marry a Catholic. This dates back to the age when Protestants and Catholics were still warring against each other in England, and the Protestants wanted to make sure they could stamp out any chance of Catholic ruler after King James II was overthrown in 1688 during the so-called Glorious Revolution. In recent years, this has resulted in two members of the royal family removing themselves from the line of succession — Prince Michael of Kent in 1978 and George Windsor, Earl of St. Andrews, in 1988. However, both of those royal men were fairly far down the succession list, so they probably felt there was no harm in removing themselves in order to marry the women that they love. Harry is probably not going to ever become king, but he is currently fourth in the line of succession, which is still considered to be fairly high up on the list. Realistically, Harry probably would not cause more royal drama in order to marry a Catholic at this point in time. Other religions are apparently free game, but Harry would probably only ever get serious with an Anglican.

The queen has pushed to abolish the anti-Catholic rule on royal marriages with 2013's Succession of the Crown Act. This would allow members of the royal family to marry Catholics and still remain on the line of succession. Considering that the threat of a Catholic rule isn't really on the top of anyone's minds these days, it's probably a good idea to cut out the discriminatory rule. However, the law has not yet gone into effect, meaning that Catholics are still out for the time being.

There's no Cinderellas here — Harry has almost exclusively gotten serious with women who came from extremely wealthy families. Chelsy was the daughter of Charles Davy, a successful businessman and one the the largest private landowners in Zimbabwe. Cressida is the daughter of Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon, a wealthy London socialite, and Jeffrey Bonas, a successful entrepreneur. It's unlikely that Harry has anything against dating nonrich women, but it's probably just that he runs in the same circles as rich people, so he's more likely to meet women from wealthy families. Besides, it would be hard to keep up with Harry's lifestyle without already having a considerable amount of money.

Harry and Prince William have a close-knit circle of friends, all of whom have been vetted as trustworthy allies. Harry's girlfriend would also be expected to keep her lips shut on anything to do with their royal romance, including never talking about personal details to friends outside of the circle of trust who could pass along that information to the press. Chelsy never spoke about her long romance with Harry and has remained tight-lipped about any details to this day. (This is probably why Chelsy is still close to Harry and his circle of friends.) Cressida, meanwhile, doesn't strike us as the gossip type, especially since she is already such close friends with Princess Eugenie, Harry's cousin.

In short — be prepared to keep quiet, shed gossips from your group of friends, and don't forget to delete your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all other social media accounts.

There's more to dating a royal than wearing fancy clothes and tiaras. Royal women are under an incredible amount of scrutiny and any minor slipup (like having your skirt blow up) is seen as having a damaging effect on the monarchy. In addition, Harry's wife would likely be expected to hold a royal role — meaning lots of time spent attending sometimes boring charity events, never being allowed to be left alone due to the security threat, and having your entire public persona dictated by royal secretaries and courtiers. Harry's future bride would be more than a trophy wife, she would be a symbol of the monarchy and would be expected to uphold that image.

Yes, this may sound easy, but this is actually the hardest point for Harry's ladies to adapt to. It's rumored that both Chelsy and Cressida broke things off with Harry because they didn't want to take on royal life.